July 25, 2012

KOLKATA,July 20:The
Trinamool Congress claims to be against pushing through the Forward Contract
Regulation Act (Amendment) Bill only because the Left parties are opposing
forward trading in food items and essential commodities, said Biman Basu,
Chairman of the Left Front Committee in the State, here on Thursday.

“Forward trading was accepted as a policy when
the National Democratic Alliance was in power at the Centre and the Trinamool
Congress was one of its constituents. We had never heard of the party opposing
it then. Neither did it oppose it as a part of the United Progressive Alliance
II Government. The Trinamool Congress is only opposing it in the State because
the Left parties are against it,” Basu said.

“The Left parties, however, have no difficulty
with this (the opposition of the Trinamool Congress to forward trading)” he
said, adding that the Left Front is “totally opposed to both forward trading in
commodities and foreign participation in commodity markets”.

The Left Front is engaged in a sustained
campaign against forward trading on food items and essential commodities as it
is on several other issues, said Biman Basu, who is also the State Secretary of
the Communist Party of India (Marxist), after a meeting of the Left Front
Committee.

As part of its agitation programme in protest
against rising prices of essential commodities as well as the Centre’s proposed
Food Security Bill in its present form, the Left parties will hold a 48-hour
sit-in demonstration from August 1 in Kolkata and the districts, he said.

The Left Front will also take out a “grand
procession” against imperialism in Kolkata and in Siliguri on September 1– the
day Germany had invaded Poland in 1939 and one which is observed as
“Anti-Imperialism” and “Anti-War” Day. This time round the day will hold
special significance in view of the U.S. designs to extend its military
presence in Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, said Basu.

The Left Front also expressed concern at the
manner in which the Mamata Government was dismantling the panchayat system by
getting district officials to take over their functioning. A deputation of
members of panchayats run by the Left parties will submit a memorandum in
protest against attempts to undermine the three-tier system, he added.

KOLKATA: In a show of political vendetta
of the worst kind, the TMC government of West Bengal created obstacles in
commemoration of the 98th birth anniversary of communist leader and former
chief minister Jyoti Basu, as former Left Front MLAs and ministers were barred
from entering theWest
Bengalassembly on
Sunday, July 8, to observe the occasion. This was despite the leader of
opposition, Suryakanta Mishra’s request to the speaker, Biman Bandyopadhyay, in
this regard. Basu’s birthday falls on July 8.

Surprisingly, the Trinamul-led government
had ‘observed’ Basu’s birth anniversary on Friday, July 6 --- two days before
the date, even after strong reactions from different quarters. The Left Front
MLAs had therefore chosen to stay away from the July 6 event, arguing that the
ruling party was dishonouring the departed leader by observing the occasion two
days in advance.

What happened on Sunday afternoon was that
when Left leaders reached the north gate of the assembly building, theMarshallssaid former MLAs could not enter the
house without permission. Leader of opposition Suryakanta Mishta then called up
the speaker, Biman Bandyopadhyay, and asked him to allow the former MLAs to go
inside the assembly building.

“Are the former MLAs criminals?” Mishra asked
the speaker over phone while informing him that some of those who had assembled
were elected way back in 1971. But when the speaker denied to entertain
Mishra’s request, the Left leaders decided to garland a portrait of Basu
outside the assembly building’s north gate.

This was because Left Front MLAs and
former MLAs chose to pay their tributes to Jyoti Basu on the pavement outside
the gates of the assembly building where a photo of him was placed. Misra stood
on a chair and spoke in the occasion. He said, “Jyoti Basu was the voice of
democracy. The ruling party inWest
Bengalis afraid of
this very democracy. But we will take the ideas of Jyoti Basu to the people.”

Describing the developments as
“unparliamentary,” former speaker Hasim Abdul Halim, who also stood outside the
assembly buiding, said that it was “disrespectful to the democratic norms of
the house.” Halim recalled that it was here that millions had paid their last
tributes to Comrade Jyoti Basu after his demise.

Subhash Naskar, RSP MLA, expressed his
strong displeasure against the attitude of the ruling party.

KOLKATA:
Two days after chief minister Mamata Banerjee prematurely celebrated former
chief minister and CPM patriarch Jyoti Basu's birthday in the assembly, his
comrades had to garland him outside its gates on the actual day of celebration.

The
Left parties had planned to offer flowers to the painting of Basu in the
assembly. Accordingly, around 15 leaders gathered at the assembly gates at
10.30 am on Sunday. After leader of the opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra arrived,
they tried to enter the house. But the securitymen stopped them, saying only
sitting MLAs would be allowed entry.

A
heated exchange followed, with the securitymen pleading that they were
"following instructions" of the Marshall. Among those who were not
allowed in were former ministers Debes Das and Manab Mukherjee and former MLAs
Rabin Deb, Rajdeo Goala and Sudhangshu Sil. Former speaker Hashim Abdul Halim
was allowed in with the sitting MLAs.

When
Mishra failed to convince the Marshall, he called Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay
and pleaded with him. "I am requesting you to instruct the Marshall to let
us in. As former MLAs, they have been given identity cards and enjoy the
privilege of entering the house just like sitting members. I had taken verbal
permission from you for this morning's programme that we had planned in memory
of Jyoti Basu. Why should we submit a list of people entering the Assembly?
They are all former MLAs," Mishra said on the phone.

But
permission was not granted. The "insult" was obviously not taken
kindly by the former MLAs and ministers who decided to register their protest
against such "unconstitutional" behaviour by the ruling party. A
framed photograph of Basu was brought from the 'Ganashakti' office, placed on a
chair and the Left leaders offered their respects at the gate of the assembly
house.

"This
is absolutely shameful. We have been forced to offer flowers to Jyoti Basu on
his birthday at the gates of the assembly. The speaker simply refused to listen
to reason. The government celebrated Basu's birthday two days in advance and
has now prevented us from offering our respects on the day itself. No one could
imagine that things would come to such a humiliating pass," fumed Mishra.

Speaker
Biman Bandyopadhyay justified himself, saying Mishra had not submitted a formal
application seeking permission for the programme. "We had asked for a list
of names. Why could he not provide us with that?"

Former
Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim, however, was not impressed. "How can a speaker
prevent former ministers and MLAs from entering the assembly? They bear
identity cards that allow them this privilege," he said.

West
Bengal Pradesh Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya, too, called the act
"shameful". "They should have been allowed to go in and offer
their respects. The ruling party has not behaved properly," he said.

Congress
leader and Behrampore MP Adhir Chowdhury called it a "farce". "I
won't be surprised if tomorrow they say that since Jyoti Basu is a former chief
minister, we should take his painting out of the House!" was his snide
remark.

On the
other hand, state panchayat and PHE minister Subrata Mukherjee criticized
Mishra for not taking prior permission. He explained that since the assembly is
closed on Sundays, the state government had organized the programme to pay
tribute to Basu on Friday at the behest of chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
"CPM MLAs refused to participate in it. They just sat there and sipped
tea," he complained.

According
to him, "Mishra is seeking cheap publicity through media attention."

"By
paying their tribute outside the assembly, the Left leaders have dishonoured
Basu," he said. "When Basu was alive, no CPM leader would go to
Indira Bhavan with flowers to wish him on his birthday. It was only Subhas
Chakraborty and his wife Ramala who celebrated it. The other CPM leaders would
say that communists do not celebrate birth or death anniversaries,"
Mukherjee reminded.He claimed the Left leaders organized this event only to
counter Friday's state-backed programme at the assembly.

"Former
Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim is also well aware that prior permission of the
speaker is needed to keep the assembly open on a holiday. Moreover, certain
security measures have been installed decision for which was taken in an
all-party meeting. So entry has been restricted now," Mukherjee said.

"It's
just drama. If Mishra had any respect for Basu, he would have visited Indira
Bhavan where the CPM patriarch stayed till his last days. But how could Mishra
have got publicity had he not enacted the drama in front of the assembly
gates," Mukherjee lashed out.

Meanwhile,
CPM state secretary Biman Bose said that chief minister Mamata Banerjee,
immediately after the government was formed, had said that the Assembly would
be for the Opposition - a spirit that reflects democracy. "However, there
is no reflection of that," Bose said, reacting to Sunday's incident.
"Whatever happened today was shameful, and it is not clear which way the
government is going."

He said birth anniversary celebrations
could "begin" a few days ahead, but to observe the actual date of
birth has always been the custom. "What are the students learning from all
this? This is disrespectful", Bose said.

KOLKATA, July 18:On July 16 and 17, thousands of people
participated in civil disobedience in West Bengal against the
unprecedented price rises. While the programme was observed in districts on
July 16, the Left Front observed it in Kolkata centrally on July 17.

The
Left Front initiated a campaign against price rise and continuing attack on
democracy from the 4th of this month. A village and area level intensive
campaign was organised, followed by block and subdivision level deputations and
demonstrations. The civil disobedience marked the peak of this campaign. The
discontent among people against the spiralling price rise was evident in their
truly mass participation in the programme. Huge rallies and public meetings
took place in Burdwan, Berhampore, Balurghat, Chuchura, Siuri and other
district headquarters on July 16.

In Kolkata, State Left Front
chairman & CPI(M)
state secretary Biman Basu and veteranForward
Bloc leader Ashok Ghosh, Manjukumar
Majumdar (CPI), Khiti Goswami (RSP) and Leader of the Opposition in the
Assembly Surjyakanta
Misra were among those who courted arrest, followed by streams of Left Front
activists from Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas. In the public meeting just
before the court arrest, Left leaders called for a wider movement. Biman Basu
sharply criticised the inaction of the state government in controlling the
price rise. Ashoke Ghosh said the state was now heading for a disaster; this
should be prevented through struggle.

The
Left Front has announced that there will be a continuous movement against price
rise. There will be dharnas from July 30. Throughout the month of August a
massive campaign will be unleashed on the question of food security.

In
the meantime, Left peasant organisations have started a signature campaign on
their 14-point charter of demands which include fair prices for farmers and
reduction of the prices of fertilisers and other agricultural inputs.

Left Front chairman Biman Basu
said at the Kolkata programme, the Trinamool Congress-led government has failed to
initiate any measures to check rising prices of essential commodities and had
only set up a task force which had failed to deliver results.

“A year ago the State Government
had set up a task force to check escalating prices. After this task force did
nothing for an entire year, another task force has been set up,” Biman Basu
said at the rally where leaders of the Left Front courted arrest in protest
against the government’s inaction on rising prices.

He said the prices of essential
commodities were spiralling out of control, but the State Government had failed
to initiate any measures.

During the day, Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee expressed satisfaction with the work done by the task force
although hoarding in certain commodities continues to be a problem. Referring
to her remarks, Basu said: “There is a vast difference in the government making
announcements and actually taking measures to reduce prices.”

As large crowds of supporters
thronged the venue of the rally, Biman Basu urged them to maintain discipline
and only those who had been designated to court arrest should do so.

“This government has violated
many rights of the people. You will get several opportunities to participate in
protests where we shall court arrest,” Biman Basu told the supporters gathered
there.

He said the State Government
had failed to protect the rights of the people, to ensure the safety of women,
curbed the freedom of Panchayats and caused their bureaucratization.

Biman Basu also said the Food
Security Bill proposed by the Centre has several shortcomings and the four Left
parties have sought amendments to the Bill.

It is not right to waste
our vote by not casting it, hence the painful decision: Mamata

KOLKATA: West
Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said
here on Tuesday that her party would vote for the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) nominee Pranab Mukherjee in the July 19 Presidential election.

She , however, made it clear that the decision
to vote for Mr. Mukherjee was a painful one. “Taking it was difficult…It is not
right to waste our vote by not casting it; so we have decided to vote for
Pranab Mukherjee. Not that we have accepted the choice wholeheartedly; but we
had no option,” she told journalists at the Secretariat after a meeting with
some leaders of the Trinamool.

Shortly therafter, Mr. Mukherjee called on Ms.
Banerjee to thank her.

A decision on the Vice-Presidential election
would be taken later, Ms. Banerjee added.

‘Not to please anyone’

The decision to vote for Mr. Mukherjee was
taken because of the “compulsions of coalition politics and our commitment to
democracy, not to please anyone,” she said, adding that it did not bring any
cheer to her. “It is not about supporting any individual, but concerns the
greater good.”

She had “not bowed to any
pressure” while taking the decision.

With the former President, Abdul Kalam, whose
name the Trinamool had proposed, “unfortunately”’ declining to contest, the
party could have decided to abstain from voting “but that would have been
wasting our vote and I think it would not have been right” she said.

Ms. Banerjee said that she had informed Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh of her party’s decision. “I told him that he will be
happy to know of our support [to Mr. Mukherjee] though we do not want
anything.”

“Old chapter”

As for her earlier reservations about Mr.
Mukherjee’s candidature, Ms. Banerjee said it was “an old chapter” that one
should “forget.”

• ‘We were not under pressure while taking
decision’

• ‘It is not about supporting any individual
but done for the greater good’

Kaushik
Sen's tryst with “Macbeth" left him with a dilemma of Shakespearean
proportions. The play that debuted to a full house on May 29, had its second
show on June 14. But theatre lovers, who attended both, were in for a surprise.
After becoming the king, Malcolm who addresses his coterie of men with "Dosh
bochhorer kaj dosh diney
kore felte hobe" — a line that's similar
to the latest political punchline — was left out of the second stage act. Is
political pressure to be blamed for this?

Filmmaker Sharon Dutta,
who attended both shows, says, "When Malcolm uttered the dialogue, I
remember the audience breaking into a huge round of applause. I was thoroughly
disappointed to watch the second show. More so, because the play comes from the
stable of Swapnasandhani. From "Winkle Twinkle" to "Ruddhasangeet", political
criticism has found its way on stage. I sincerely want this tradition to
continue."

Ask Kaushik if political
pressure made him change the climax of "Macbeth" and
he explains that it was more of a well-thought out decision. "We got a
huge response for "Macbeth". And the line was much
talked about. But after the first show, playwright Ujjal Chattopadhyay
expressed serious concern," says Kaushik.

A government employee, Ujjal reportedly feared his job might be
at stake and that made Kaushik rethink his decision on carrying the line.
"It has not been penned by Ujjal. It was something I incorporated. But
it's not possible for me to clarify that at every show. At the same time, I do
not want to make Ujjal the scapegoat. That he fears losing his job is itself
nothing short of alarming."

KOLKATA, July 7: Around 2500 people
assembled at the Rani Rashmoni Road, in the heart of Kolkata to protest against
the rape of a young athlete with speech and hearing impairments at Uttar Dinajpur
in West Bengal. The protest was called by the Paschim Banga Rajya Pratibandi
Sammelani, an affiliate of the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled
(NPRD).

The widespread indignation that this crime and
subsequent reaction of the state administration has evoked is reflected in the
wide spectrum of people who had gathered to condemn the crime in unequivocal
terms.

Joining the large number of persons with
disabilities who had come from different parts of West Bengal were film
personalities and sportspersons. Brushing shoulders with them were
representatives from a host of NGOs, rights activists, academicians and civil
society organisations.

At the outset, a disabled folk-singer from
Bankura rendered songs specially composed for the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Kanti Ganguly,
Convenor of the NPRD and General Secretary of the Sammelani recounted his visit
to the victim’s residence and assured that the organisation will take the
responsibility of rehabilitating the girl. However, he underlined that it is
the responsibility of the state government to rehabilitate the victim. He was
unsparing in his criticism of the role of the government agencies.

Speaker after speaker condemned the increase in
the number of cases of sexual violence reported in West Bengal and sought
action against insensitive officials like the police and the disability
commissioner who instead of initiating action were seen as siding with the
perpetrators. While educationist Subhankar Chakrobarty pledged all help for the
girl, writer Azijul Haque called for broader unity to foil such crimes in the
future.

Ramola Chakroborty, womens rights activist was
scathing in her remarks on the role of state Government. Prof Ishita
Mukhopadhyay, Director, Womens Studies, Calcutta University felt that the
women’s movement itself feels threatened as no laws or court directives are
being implemented in the state anymore.

Distinguished sports personalities Jyotirmoyee
Sikdar and Bula Chowdhury cautioned against the casual manner in which crimes
against disabled athlete were treated.
Commonwealth Games medal winner, Prasant Karmakar, a disabled swimmer,
pointed out that overcoming disability and becoming an achiever in sports is no
mean feat. Eminent lawyer Bharati Mukherjee expressed shock at the total
silence of the State Women’s Commission.

Film maker Anindita Sarbadhikari vehemently
criticised the state administration for being unable to protect women. Film
actor Badshah Moitra underscored the importance of people from diverse fields
coming together to condemn and protest such crimes. Lina Bardhan, Director, Special Olympics and
Pankaj Das, ex-Principal, Loius Braille Memorial School expressed their
solidarity. Also present on the occasion to express her solidarity was Malini
Bhattacharjee, former Chairperson of the state Women’s Commission. Several
speakers drew attention to the fact that in the recent period Bengal has earned
the dubious distinction of topping the list in crimes against women and
lamented that even the suggestions made by National commission for Women have
been totally ignored by the state.

The inaction and insensitivity on the part of
the state administration came in for sharp criticism from all quarters.

The meeting was presided over by Sailen Chowdhury,
President of the Sammelini.

The meeting unanimously resolved to meet the
Governor in a delegation on August 9, with the following demands:

July 16, 2012

KOLKATA:
The delayed monsoon has got vegetable price spiralling. Moreover, middlemen in
the agro-marketing network of the state adding woes to plight of common men by
maximising profit with a yawning gap between wholesale market price and that of
the retail markets.

The
agricultural marketing minister Arup Roy admitted that middle-men have once
again been playing havoc with the price of perishable commodities in urban an
semi-urban markets. ""There is a task force to monitor the price. I
have to check out what their findings are. I am indeed anxious with the price
getting out of control. I will hold an emergency meeting on Monday," he
added.

Besides,
the task force a ministerial committee was formed to keep a tab on the
commodity price at different markets. The committee has animal resource
minister Nur-e-Alam Chowdhury, agricultural marketing minister Arup Roy and
food processing minister Ujjwal Biswas.

The
delayed monsoon has already taking toll of agriculture productions. Excessive
heat and lack of rain has led to drying up of lot of agricultural products.
Vegetables like parwal is the biggest victim of this extreme weather, said
Shankar Kamila, secretary of agriculture marketers association. A lot of
vegetables could not be sent to market from the fields.

But
much of this price-rise was engineered artificially by middle-men. The yawning
gap between the wholesale and retail price is one of indicators how the chain
of middle-men are causing price-rise at their will. Two chains of middlemen
work one between the farmers and whole-sellers and other from whole-sellers and
retailers.

"Even
though the chain between the whole-seller and retailer is a shorter one, the
price difference can show the lack of monitoring on the markets by the
government," said Amit Sinha, a consumers' rights activist.

According
to whole-sale and retail marketing sources, the gap between the wholesale and
retail price of perishable commodities are gradually increasing with the time.
If the whole-sale price of parwal is Rs 8 per kg, it is selling at anything
between Rs 20 and 30 at retail markets. It is worse for okra. The wholesale
price is Rs 8-9, but the retail price is Rs 30-40.

In
case of potato and onion, which are more-or-less regulated and can be stocked
in cold-storage, the retail and wholesale price difference is not that huge.
However, Patit Paban De, a potato expert said, ""The potato price is
expected to rise further with a huge loss of productivity is south India.

""Some
vegetables prices have gone up so high that it has been becoming increasingly
difficult to strike a balance in the food budget for most of the
buyers,"" said Rabindranath Koley of Kankurgachhi VIP market. The
green chili has crossed Rs 100 per kg. I can't remember this happening in my
life-time, he added.

Why
is this gap ever widening? According to a senior officer, the Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee earlier took the price-rise seriously. She visited some markets
and asked the chief secretary Samar Ghosh to inquire into the abnormal price
rise. The government then periodically checked the market price and carried out
raids. It yielded results. But with the time, that monitoring mechanism got
rusty.

KOLKATA:
Fuel prices haven't alone pushed up transportation costs. A steep rise in toll
by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is also responsible. However,
transporters complained that the hike is not uniform across toll plazas and
thus creates confusion. Such a steep rise, transporters said, would result in a
further price rise of all commodities.

According
to NHAI memo 13013/630/CO/1112 /GC, dated March 31, 2012, toll taxes have been
modified upwards. However, for transporters, the toll fees have not been
uniformly modified. For instance, on National Highway II, a truck had to cough
up Rs 165 to cross each toll plaza. Now, it needs to pay Rs 265 at Dhulagarh
toll plaza and Rs 245 while crossing Debra toll plaza.

In
case of mini buses, too, the toll has risen from Rs 85 to Rs 120. For small
cars, it has gone up from Rs 30 to Rs 75. "Naturally, the end-users like
you and me are the ultimate victims of such upward revision of toll tax.
Earlier, from Kolkata to Mumbai, we had to pay Rs 2,500 as toll tax per trip
per carriage. Now, we are paying a little more than Rs 4,000," said
Satyajit Majumdar, general secretary of Federation of West Bengal Truck Owners'
Association.

"The
problem is, NHAI does not maintain any transparency as far as its toll revisions
are concerned. We have been demanding for uniform toll across the country. This
would leave little room for confusion. But that has not been done," said
Shyamal Dasgupta, general secretary of Truck Owners' Association.

The
problem is even worse for short-trip makers like buses. "By paying Rs 85,
we used to have multiple passages through a toll plaza in a span of 12 hours.
But now, we have to cough up Rs Rs 120 for one up and one down trip. Even if we
have time to cross the toll plaza once more, we have to pay Rs 120 again. This
has made our situation very difficult with bus fares remaining constant over
the years," said Mini Bus operator Shiladitya Sarkar.

According
to NHAI sources, the upward revision of the toll is due to escalation of cost
for maintenance and road construction. NHAI has outsourced the collection of
toll across the country.

The
highways ministry expects approximately Rs 840 crore rise in toll revenue from
roads and bridges on national highways (NH), as more stretches come under the toll
network. Toll revenue may touch Rs 3,627 crore in 2012-13 from Rs 3,554 crore
during the last financial year, because of this upward revision.

Almost
95% of this revenue will come from roads owned by the National Highways
Authority of India (NHAI). Sources in the authority said the increase in toll
revenue also includes the premium that NHAI has got from awarding projects in
2011 and 2012. The authority has earned at least Rs 2,300 crore as premium from
awarding projects during the current financial year.

The
premium is the amount that private developers pay annually to the NHAI.
Moreover, the annual premium amount increases by 5% for the entire concession
period. "We also expect more stretches, which we will be awarding to
private players for maintenance and collecting toll to private developers will
fetch premium. We will have enough funds to take care of our financial needs
for the next fiscal year. We have also raised Rs 10,000 crore from the markets
with us for investment," said a senior NHAI official. He added that the
impact of premium would be visible in the next 2-3 years. NHAI also expects
revenues from fuel cess for highways sector to be around Rs 8,400 crore in
2012-13.